Reel pay-off stand



Oct. 10, 1967 J. P. BERKELEY REEL PAY-OFF STAND 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed NOV. 15, 1965 Oct 1967 J. P. BERKELEY 3,346,214

REEL PAY-OFF STAND Filed Nov. 15, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 fl-P United States Patent 3,346,214 REEL PAY-OFF STAND John P. Berkeley, Mequon, Wis., assignor to Harnischfeger Corporation, West Milwaukee, Wis., a corporation of Wisconsin Filed Nov. 15, 1965, Ser. No. 507,739 4 Claims. (Cl. 242-1561) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A reel pay-off stand for a wire reel and having a pivoted ramp engageable with the reel for braking it, and also having a swinging sheave mechanism for pivoting said ramp.

situation, and then drag or cause heavy inertia loads un- V der other operating circumstances.

Certain prior art devices have been heretofore proposed for loading the reel into the stand by means of an inclined ramp wherein the stub axles of the reel roll along guides and then drop into their respective sockets. Such an arrangement is shown in the Hirt Patent 3,069,107 issued December 18, 1962. This type of prior art device, however, has certain shortcomings, for example, the weight of the reel as it drops into the bearings can cause damage to the bearings, particularly if the bearings are of the antifriction type.

The above patent also discloses a dancer roll operated braking means wherein the reel is braked when the tension in the wire being drawn oif is reduced, and on the other hand, the reel is permitted to turn freely when the tension in the wire being drawn oif is again resumed.

The present invention provides a pivoted loading ramp, onto which the reel may be rolled, and is elevated by a cam arrangement attached to the arms of a swinging dancer roll. Thus the entire reel may be easily and conveniently raised and placed on the antifriction bearings in a gentle manner without damage to the bearings. In addition, the dancer roll and arms can act to swing the pivoted platform which acts as a brake when the tension in the wire being drawn off is reduced.

Another aspect of the invention provides two sets of swinging arms over which the wire being drawn off is trained, whereby the above mentioned swinging arm brake arrangement can be utilized regardless of the direction in which the pay-out of wire is made.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent as this disclosure progresses, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a reel stand made in accordance with the present invention and showing the wire being drawn off in one direction;

FIGURE 2 is a view similar to FIGURE 1 but showing the position of one set of arms changed from that in FIGURE 1 as when the wire is being drawn off in a downwardly or different direction from that shown in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a plan view of the stand shown in FIG- URE 1, certain parts being shown in broken lines for the sake of clarity;

FIGURE 4 is a side elevational view of the device shown in FIGURE 1, certain parts being shown as broken away for the sake of clarity in the drawings;

FIGURE 5 is a front elevational view of the stand shown in FIGURE 4;

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary, perspective view, of the cam and swinging arm arrangement for actuating the pivoted ramp; and

FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary, sectional, side elevational view of the portion of the ramp as shown in FIGURE 4, but showing the cam in the position when braking the reel.

Referring in greater detail to the drawings, the pay-off stand includes a base comprised of two angle iron members 1 and 2 arranged in parallelism and having a rear, angle iron member 3 welded therebetween. At the front or real inlet side of the base, a fixed, upwardly inclined, entrance ramp 4 is welded between the side angles 1 and 2. A pair of upright members 5 and 6 are welded to their respective side members 1 and 2 and extend upwardly from a generally central portion thereof. Guide members 7 and 8 are welded to the upper ends of their respective upright members and have oppositely inclined ends which open in a forward direction to guide the reel R therebetween as the latter is rolled up the inclined entrance ramp and onto a pivoted ramp 10.

The pivoted ramp It) is located between the upright members and has a shaft 11 welded at its end adjacent to the inclined ramp, and a rearwardly and upwardly inclined portion 10a extending across the rear end thereof. Shaft 11 is mounted in the side members 1 and 2 whereby the ramp 1!) can swing from a lower position (FIGURE 4) to a braking position against the reel R (FIGURE 7).

A pair of cam rollers 12 and 13 are rotatably mounted by their respective threaded shafts 12a and 13a at the upper end of each of the upright members 5 and 6. These cam rollers are of the antifriction type and the spindles 15 at each end of the reel is adapted to set on top of these rollers for free rotation thereon.

As the reel is of considerable weight, it is necessary to raise it above the rollers and gently lower it onto these rollers to avoid damage. This is accomplished by the bell crank mechanism M which is pivotal-1y attached to the rear end of the base member and which forceably elevates the pivoted ramp 10 together with the reel R which has been deposited thereon from the fixed inclined ramp 4.

The bell crank mechanism M includes a shaft 20 pivoted in the side members 1 and 2 and extending outwardly at either end thereof. One arm of the bell crank is formed by the spacer 21 and rod 22 which are welded together and to the shaft 20, as clearly shown in FIGURE 6. The other arm of the bell crank is formed by the pair of arms 24 and 25 secured at one of their ends to the outer ends of shaft 20 by means of the split mounting blocks 26 and 27. The arms 24 and 25 are welded to the blocks 26 and 27, respectively, and the latter in turn are fixedly clamped on shaft 20 by means of screws 28 extending through their bifurcated or split portions. A sheave S is rotatably mounted on the shaft 28 which in turn is fixed to the outer ends of arms 24 and 25.

The wire W from the reel R is trained around the sheave S and when the wire is under sufiicient tension the arms 24 and 25 are held in an elevated posit-ion so as to hold the rod 22 away from the pivoted ramp. This permits the ramp to assume its lower port-ion where it is free of braking contact with the reel. Conversely, when the tension in the wire is reduced, as for example, when the demand for the wire is decreased from the machine (not shown) to which it is being fed, the arms 24 and 25 will fall, thus urging the rod 22 of the bell crank mechanism against the 3 pivoted ramp, thereby urging the latter into braking engagement to the reel.

It will be noted that the pivoted ramp extends across the full width of the base and entirely beneath the reel and acts not only as a brake mechanism but also as a means for gently elevating the reel into and out of supporting position on the antifriction cam rollers 12 and 13.

In many instances of operation, it is necessary for the wire W to be paid off in directions other than shown in FIGURE 1. For example, the wire sometimes need be paid off in a downward direction as indicated in FIGURE 2. Under these circumstances, in order that the bell crank mechanism is effective as above described to perform the pay out regulation, a second pair of arms 34 and 35 are provided. Arms 34 and 35 also have a sheave S2 located on a shaft 36 between their outer ends. The inner ends of the arms 34 and 35 are pivotally mounted on their respective stub shafts 38 and 39 extending from the upright members and 6.

It will be noted the second set of arms are of telescoping construction so that the radial position of the sheave S2 may be varied and thereby give greater flexibility of operation to the stand. The arms 34, 35 are held in their adjusted extended position by the set screws 40 which threadably extend through the=outer portion 34a, 35a of the arms and engage the inner arm portion 34b and 3511.

By means of the present invention the pay out of the wire can be made in any direction and the bell crank mechanism is still effective to regulate the pay out. Furthermore, the pivoted ramp and bell crank mechanism are used to gently position the reel into or out of supporting relationship on the cam rollers of the upright members without dropping of the heavy reel.

Various modes of carrying out the invention are contemplated as being within the scope of the following claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which is regarded as the invention.

I claim:

1. A reel pay-off stand for a wire reel comprising a base having a pair of upwardly extending members located generally centrally of said base, said members each having a bearing support at its upper end for rotatably mounting said reel, said base also having a pivoted ramp located between said upright members and pivoted at one of its ends, said reel adapted to be rolled onto said pivoted ramp for being elevated by the latter and into supporting position on said bearing supports, bell crank mechanism pivoted on said base for forceably swinging said pivoted ramp upwardly and consequently the reel located thereon, said mechanism including a pair of outwardly extending arms and a sheave mounted between the outer ends of said arms whereby downward swinging movement of said arms causes said pivoted ramp to be urged upwardly against said reel and thereby elevating said reel into position in said bearing supports, the wire from said reel adapted to pass around said sheave whereby when the tension in the wire is decreased below a predetermined amount, said arms will swing downwardly and urge said pivoted ramp into braking engagement with said reel.

2. The stand as defined in claim 1 including a second pair of arms pivotally mounted at one end to said base, a second sheave located between the other ends of said second pair of arms, said wire adapted to pass around said second sheave whereby said wire may be paid out in various directions and lowering of said first set of arms will cause braking of said reel regardless of the direction of wire pay out.

3. The stand as defined in claim 1 further characterized in that said bearing supports are anti-friction rollers.

4. The stand as defined in claim 1 including a fixed, upwardly inclined ramp at one end of said base and onto which said reel may be initially rolled, said pivoted ramp being pivoted adjacent said fixed ramp for receiving said reel directly therefrom.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 10/1912 Ryon 242-1561 12/1962 Hirt 242156 X 

1. A REEL PAY-OFF STAND FOR A WIRE REEL COMPRISING A BASE HAVING A PAIR OF UPWARDLY EXTENDING MEMBERS LOCATED GENERALLY CENTRALLY OF SAID BASE, SAID MEMBERS EACH HAVING A BEARING SUPPORT AT ITS UPPER END FOR ROTATABLY MOUNTING SAID REEL, SAID BASE ALSO HAVING A PIVOTED RAMP LOCATED BETWEEN SAID UPRIGHT MEMBERS AND PIVOTED AT ONE OF ITS ENDS, SAID REEL ADAPTED TO BE ROLLED ONTO SAID PIVOTED RAMP FOR BEING ELEVATED BY THE LATTER AND INTO SUPPORTING POSITION ON SAID BEARING SUPPORTS, BELL CRANK MECHANISM PIVOTED ON SAID BASE FOR FORCEABLY SWINGING SAID PIVOTED RAMP UPWARDLY AND CONSEQUENTLY THE REEL LOCATED THEREON, SAID MECHANISM INCLUDING A PAIR OF OUTWARDLY EXTENDING ARMS AND A SHEAVE MOUNTED BETWEEN THE OUTER ENDS OF SAID ARMS WHEREBY DOWNWARD SWINGING MOVEMENT OF SAID ARMS CAUSES SAID PIVOTED RAMP TO BE URGED UPWARDLY AGAINST SAID REEL AND THEREBY ELEVATING SAID REEL INTO POSITION IN SAID BEARING SUPPORTS, THE WIRE FROM SAID REEL ADAPTED TO PASS AROUND SAID SHEAVE WHEREBY WHEN THE TENSION IN THE WIRE IS DECREASED BELOW A PREDETERMINED AMOUNT, SAID ARMS WILL SWING DOWNWARDLY AND URGE SAID PIVOTED RAMP INTO BRAKING ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID REEL. 